The Role of the Coordinator: Deep Listening

I think to ask and not assume is probably the most important part of my job description. One skill that I believe needs constant effort for improvement. So, during this past year,  as I moved to a new country and a new school, I was very aware of the need to understand the complexities of my new environment and my role in shaping a more agentic culture. As a new leader to an already established learning community, I created a 90-day inquiry into my school in which I explored and examined our current practices and asked questions in the following areas:

Who We Are…

• What are the values and beliefs of our community?
• What level of influence do parents have on our school’s decision-making process?
• What do we believe collectively and as individuals about education in the 21st century?
• Who are the influential and important people on staff?
• What are the beliefs that teachers have around technology? What are the beliefs around technology use in the home?

Where we are in place and time…

• Where are we with respect to accreditation recommendations?
• Where are we with transitioning to the enhancements?
• Where are staff in their depth of understanding of the PYP?
• How is the technology used? (SAMR/TPACK)

How we express ourselves…

• What are the ways and means that we communicate?
• How frequently do we communicate? What gets communicated?
• How is information shared on Social Media

How we organize ourselves…

• How do we order resources?
• Where are important docs “housed” and how are they shared?
• What do timetables look like?–What are the teaching/non-contact periods ratios with co-teachers? How much does each subject “get” on the time table?

Sharing the Planet…

• What are the expectations and responsibilities of teachers and staff? Beyond teaching, what else are teachers expected to do?
• What sustainability initiatives are underway? 
• What opportunities exist for student action and community service?

How the World Works…

• How is professional learning encouraged and fostered?
• What are the budget restrictions? 
• How do we plan excursions or get involved in community action? 
• What are any political considerations when we consider initiatives?

Now that the 1st semester is over and I have a sense of “How We Do School Here”, it’s time to turn my attention and focus to the students themselves. I am currently engaged in what I am calling a Listening Campaign–a term generally used for a communication strategy that helps to identify and prioritize the concerns of stakeholders. In this case, I want to dig into the hearts and minds of our students. I have created a simple survey using Google forms which provides the opportunity to deeply listen to students and I am interviewing each student one by one to get a sense of what they care about and how apt they feel at engaging in our learning community. So, as I record their ideas, there is an interaction that I hope communicates how keen I am to hear from them. When I think of my practice of mindfulness, deep listening is a vital component of our relationships–whether it is with our closest and most beloved people in our lives or people who we have more obscure relationships with. I hope that as I sit with them, I communicate that I care about them–they are a valued school member– and I wish to support them on their learning journey. I love how this practice is described in the quote below:

There is only one purpose of deep listening: to help him or her to empty their heart.

“Darling, I’m here for you. And, Darling I know that you are there.”

The gift of your presence is powerful and transformative.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

And, so, I find the answers to my questions revealing if the students feel they have agency and how they might use their agency to make an impact. Here are some of the questions I am asking:

1. Do you feel that if you have an idea, adults at school will let you try it out? 
2. The reason why I think this way is because…..
3. In your homeroom classroom, do you feel that you are interested and active in your learning?
4. The reason why I said that is because…..
5. How often do you give feedback or offer suggestions to your classmates?
6. What kind of feedback do you receive from others?
7. If I got to be the boss of school, the first thing I would change about how I learn is…
8. If I got to be the boss of the school, the first thing that I would change about snack/lunch and recess is…
9. One more idea that I have about how to improve the experience at school is…
10. Is there anything else you want to tell me...

Now I know what you are thinking, they probably answer that we should eat candy at school and be able to play whenever they want. But I have to say that when you lean in, and they know that you want to authentically listen to them, the issues and ideas that come up really expose a deeper level of concern that they have.

I consider this time spent a great privilege and rare opportunity afforded to me. Since this is the first year of implementing the PYP enhancements, I really wanted to get a snapshot of how students see themselves as learners and what issues do they feel need addressing in our learning community. I call this an Agency Audit, and I hope to repeat it after we implement more of the strategies that create the culture of agency at our school.

What questions do you think we need to ask students? How would you approach talking to students? What other questions do you think are important to developing a larger understanding of the learning community?